Play Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising Online

Summary

Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising preserves the classic turn‑based strategy of the original, yet sprinkles in new tactical tools. New COs bring the total to nineteen, and the Neotank joins the unit roster. The Missile Silo deals area damage, Pipelines act as walls, and the powerful Super CO Power uses large stars on a revamped meter for a single, game‑changing burst.

The campaign is no longer strictly linear; each continent starts with several missions you can choose from, unlocking harder ones and a Hard Campaign after meeting conditions. Ranks earned from War Rooms open an in‑game shop stocked with extra CO palettes, maps, and other upgrades. Unique Black Hole structures such as the destructible Black Cannon add new objectives on selected maps.

Versus and War Room battles work in hot‑seat or via a Link Cable, and Design mode lets you repaint CO portraits and craft maps—though you can’t place the new Black Hole buildings in the editor. Created maps are saved to the cartridge and can be shared with other GBA owners.

Critics responded enthusiastically, awarding Editor’s Choice from GameSpot and IGN and taking home the 2003 European Computer Trade Show’s Best Handheld Game. Reviews praised the depth, multiplayer fun, and the fresh Super CO Power despite noting the game’s familiarity.

Storyline

Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising picks up right after the events of the original Advance Wars. While the Allied Nations are still rebuilding from the Cosmo Land conflict, the Black Hole army has already rearmed and launched a massive invasion of Macro Land. Commander Sturm assigns four new COs—Flak, Lash, Adder and Hawke—to seize the four continents previously held by Orange Star, Blue Moon, Yellow Comet and Green Earth. Lash also equips the forces with new weapons such as the Black Cannon and Mini Cannons.

The Allied Nations must unite once more, pushing the Black Hole troops back from each continent. After clearing the allied lands, the protagonists confront Sturm near the Black Hole’s base, where the Death Ray guards a missile that could destroy half of Wars World. The allied COs manage to destroy the Death Ray, disarm the missile and corner Sturm. In a desperate move, Sturm tries to trigger a self‑destruct, but Hawke betrays him, killing Sturm with a Black Storm and seizing command.

With Sturm dead, Hawke leads the remnants of Black Hole—alongside Flak, Lash and Adder—away from Macro Land, ending the invasion.